Another Guinness World Record holder might come from the Philippines, and he is Dante Balboa or Elmer Anisco in real life (actor, multi-degree holder, professor and tourism advocate) who visited, discovered, and documented more than 1,000 waterfalls through his own efforts and expenses without the help of any government agencies and private sector.
To date, Dante just finished documenting 1,051 Philippine waterfalls to be exact (372 from Northern Luzon; Southern Luzon (237), Visayas (254); and Mindanao (188). According to Dante, he started his advocacy 21 years ago, at the average of 40-70 waterfalls per year. Until he came up with 1,051 waterfalls. He will continue his efforts after the pandemic.
Asked how he came up with the idea of a world record like this one, Dante said that he thought of something that no one could easily break. “For one, my advocacy involved too many difficulties - from natural, such as life-risking terrain along my way to the waterfalls, mountains, etc. and I might encounter snakes, cobras, crocodiles, mosquitos with dengue and malaria, etc. to physical, such as sometimes I need to walk for more than six hours to reach the falls and too much heat during summer that might cause heatstroke. To financial, such as every tour, I need to spend P1,500 per day excluding plane tickets. To companionship, such as it is hard to convince a stranger to go with my advocacy with a required eight-day tour. To emotional, such as I need to adjust or please my companion all throughout the tour days and my dedication to go back to waterfalls that had been previously visited but have not documented or wrong timing such as no water due to summer. To psychological, such as people may be unable to understand my advocacy, thus questioning my patriotism and love of my country through my advocacy. And to security, such as I might encounter armed men or rebels in isolated areas.”
“Of all the constraints, the most difficult part of my advocacy is the methodology. I need to convince a friend from social media like Facebook who is a total stranger to join me to a specific province in the Philippines for 6-10 days. I need to maximize my documentation, and places based on a certain or limited budget or expenses, limited time, planned itineraries, etc,” he said.
On June 26, Dante will receive an award as Philippine Tourism Hero of the Decade at the 4th Asia Pacific Luminare Awards which will be held at the Okada Hotel in Paranaque City. After the pandemic, Dante is also planning to hold a grand photo exhibit entitled “1,001 Philippine Waterfalls You Must Visit Before You Die” to be held at a mall and at the lobby of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. It will be followed by an informative coffee table book for the benefit of students, tourism enthusiasts, and local government units.
In case you want your local waterfalls featured in Dante's upcoming exhibit and book, you may contact him through his FB account Elmer Anisco and cellphone number 09178968287.